System and method for locational messaging

ABSTRACT

Positional communication systems and methods include receiving a definition of a first geographic area including a first commercial location by a computer system and storing the first geographic area in a memory. The location of a mobile device in the possession of a customer is determined, and if the mobile device is determined to be at a location within the first geographic area, an incentive message for the customer to leave the location and go to a second commercial location is sent to the mobile device.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 14/011,214,filed Aug. 27, 2013, which is a continuation-in-part of application Ser.No. 13/435,741, filed Mar. 30, 2012, now abandoned, which applicationclaims the benefit of provisional application Ser. No. 61/470,961, filedApr. 1, 2011, which applications are incorporated herein by reference intheir entireties.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present document relates generally to a system and method fordelivery of digital content based upon the location of a particularrecipient, and more particularly to a system and method for delivering amessage to a mobile device, such as a cellular telephone, based upon thelocation of the mobile device.

BACKGROUND

Traditionally, the delivery of digital content (message forum postings,email, text messages, SMS, video files, graphics files, audio files,etc.) is organized around a universal resource locator (URL), telephonenumber or email address. In other words, when considering the questionof to where content is delivered, the answer is that content isdelivered to a particular URL (example: content is uploaded to aparticular image file server, such as the image file server atflickr.com, or to a particular video server, such as the one availableat youtube.com, or to a particular forum server, such as the oneavailable at 4chan.org), to a particular telephone number (example: atext message or SMS is delivered to a particular telephone number), orto a particular email address (content associated with emails aredelivered to a particular email address). One result of this presentstate of affairs is that content which is intended for receipt by acommunity is generally accessed by the community via a website. Thus,the community is nucleated about a website. Discussion pertaining to arestaurant, for example, is nucleated about a website such aschowhound.com, as opposed to being nucleated around the particularrestaurant that is the subject of the discussion. One disadvantage ofthis organization is that although a given individual may be a customerof the aforementioned restaurant, that individual will not encounter thecontent pertaining to the restaurant if he does not visit the particularwebsite that hosts the content.

There exists a need for a service that organizes the delivery ofelectronic content around physical location as at least one aspect ofits content delivery scheme.

SUMMARY

Against this backdrop, the disclosed systems and methods were developed.In accordance with certain aspects of the disclosure, a computerizedmethod of providing a customer incentive to leave a first commerciallocation and to arrive at a second commercial location includesreceiving a definition of a first geographic area including the firstcommercial location by a computer system and storing the firstgeographic area in a memory. A location of a mobile device in thepossession of the customer is determined, and if the mobile device isdetermined to be at a location within the first geographic area, then anincentive message for the customer to leave the location and go to thesecond commercial location is sent to the mobile device.

In accordance with further aspects of the disclosure a system includes aback-end including a server and a memory, and a front-end including amobile device application. A communications interface is accessible bythe back-end and the front-end. The back-end is configured to determinea location of a mobile device including the mobile device application,and if the mobile device is determined to be at a location within afirst geographic area, then an incentive message for a customer to leavethe location and go to a second commercial location is sent to themobile device.

Other aspects of the disclosure include an application for a mobiledevice that implements a method including determining a location of themobile device running the application. If the mobile device isdetermined to be at a location within a first geographic area, then anotification is sent to a back-end. An incentive message for a customerto leave the location and go to a second commercial location is receivedby the application, and the incentive message is displayed on the mobiledevice.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 depicts a locational messaging system, in accordance with someembodiments of the invention.

FIG. 2 depicts a logical architecture of the positional contentplatform, in accordance with some embodiments of the invention.

FIG. 3 depicts an exemplary embodiment of a mobile device, in accordancewith some embodiments of the invention.

FIG. 4 depicts a user interface presented by the positional contentapplication, in accordance with some embodiments of the invention.

FIG. 5 depicts a method for placing content icons and aggregator iconson a field of view, in accordance with some embodiments of theinvention.

FIG. 6 depicts a content summary in accordance with some embodiments ofthe invention.

FIG. 7 depicts a content detail in accordance with some embodiments ofthe present invention.

FIG. 8 depicts a create comment screen in accordance with someembodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 9 depicts an aggregator summary in accordance with some embodimentsof the present invention

FIG. 10 depicts an aggregator detail in accordance with some embodimentsof the present invention.

FIG. 11 depicts a create content screen in accordance with someembodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 12 depicts a camera/video interface in accordance with someembodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 13 depicts a create content screen with an image introduced intothe content editing area, in accordance with some embodiments of thepresent invention.

FIG. 14 depicts a method for creating content, in accordance with someembodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 15 depicts a filter menu in accordance with some embodiments of thepresent invention.

FIG. 16 depicts a view menu in accordance with some embodiments of thepresent invention.

FIG. 17 depicts a search menu in accordance with some embodiments of thepresent invention.

FIG. 18 depicts a mark place interface in accordance with someembodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 19 depicts a positional selection menu in accordance with someembodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 20 depicts a 5-D view in accordance with some embodiments of thepresent invention.

FIG. 21 depicts a notifications center in accordance with someembodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 22 depicts a newsfeed screen in accordance with some embodiments ofthe present invention.

FIG. 23 depicts an example of a method for providing a customer orpotential customer an incentive to leave one merchant's location and goto another merchant's establishment in accordance with some embodimentsof the present invention.

FIG. 24 is a block diagram depicting aspects of system for providing acustomer or potential customer an incentive to leave one merchant'slocation and go to another merchant's establishment in accordance withsome embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 25 depicts an alert screen in accordance with some embodiments ofthe present invention.

FIG. 26 depicts an incentive screen in accordance with some embodimentsof the present invention.

FIG. 27 depicts a second alert screen in accordance with someembodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 28 depicts a welcome screen in accordance with some embodiments ofthe present invention.

FIG. 29 depicts a voucher screen in accordance with some embodiments ofthe present invention.

FIGS. 30A-30E depict a series of campaign creation screens in accordancewith some embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 31 depicts an example of a defined first geographic region inaccordance with some embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 32 depicts an example of a defined second geographic region inaccordance with some embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 33 depicts an arrangement the first and second geographic regionsillustrated in FIGS. 31 and 32, respectively, situated adjacent oneanother in accordance with some embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 34 depicts an arrangement of the first and second geographicregions illustrated in FIG. 33 with third and fourth geographic regionsin accordance with some embodiments of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 depicts one embodiment of a locational messaging system. As canbe seen from FIG. 1, the system 100 includes a plurality of mobilecommunication and processing devices 102 and 104. Although FIG. 1depicts a system including two mobile communication and processingdevices 102 and 104, the locational messaging system 100 may include anynumber of such devices 102 and 104, including very large numbers of suchdevices 102 and 104, such as millions of such devices 102 and 104, ormore. According to one embodiment, the mobile communication andprocessing devices 102 and 104 are embodied as smart phones, such as aniPhone® or a phone running the Android® operating system. According toanother embodiment, the mobile devices 102 and 104 are embodied aspersonal display assistant devices, tablet devices, mobile gamingdevices, or any other mobile device understood by those of skill in theart to provide a mobile execution environment with certain positionaldetection capabilities and communication capabilities, which arediscussed in greater detail herein.

According to one embodiment, each mobile device 102 and 104 maycommunicate with a positional content platform 106 via a communicationnetwork 108, such as the Internet.

An application executing on the mobile device 102 or 106 permits itsuser to generate digital content and to associate that digital contentwith a location, so that the content can be encountered by another userof such a mobile device 102 or 104. For example, a user of mobile device102 creates a simple unit of digital content, a textual message, reading“I was here,” and associates the message with a location. The user ofmobile device 102 may elect to associate the aforementioned message withhis present location L1. According to one embodiment, the mobile device102 detects its current location and associates the content generated bythe user with the current location. On the other hand, the user mayelect to associate his message with a location that is different fromhis current location, such as at location L2. In either event, in thewake of generating the content, the content and desired location forassociation with the content is communicated to the positional contentplatform 106.

Continuing with this example, the user of mobile device 104 uses themobile device 104 to discover and view the content. According to oneembodiment, the mobile device 104 presents a user interface having afield of view that corresponds with a region R1. According to oneembodiment, the mobile device 104 detects its current location, andbased upon its current location defines its field of view to begenerally centered about or to otherwise contain its location. As can beseen in FIG. 1, the mobile device 104 is located at location L3 andtherefore presents a field of view corresponding to region R1, whichencompasses location L3. An icon corresponding to the content associatedwith location L2 is presented within the field of view, at a locationwithin the field of view corresponding to location L2. Therefore, whenlocated at location L3, the user of the mobile device 104 observes, viathe field of view presented by the user interface, an icon alerting himto the presence of content associated with location L2. The user mayselect the icon, and view the message: “I was here.” According to someembodiments, the field of view may encompass an area that does notcontain the present location of the mobile device 104, and the field ofview may be selectable by the user of the mobile device 104.

According to some embodiments, the mobile device 104 sends a servicecall to the positional content platform 106 to obtain informationconcerning the location of content, so that icons may be properlypresented within the aforementioned field of view. According to someembodiments, the mobile device directs a service to the positionalcontent platform 106; the service call includes parameters defining theregion corresponding to the field of view. The positional contentplatform 106 responds by returning a data set that identifies each unitof content within the aforementioned region and the location associatedwith each such unit. This request and response transaction provides themobile device 104 with sufficient information to generate the field ofview and to place icons appropriately within the field of view, so thatthe location of the icons within the field of view correspond to thephysical location of the messages within the physical regioncorresponding to the field of view.

In response to having encountered and viewed the content associated withlocation L2, the user of mobile device 104 may generate a response, suchas, “So was I.” According to some embodiments, the response isassociated with the original message, so that the original message andcontent form a thread or discussion thread that is associated withlocation L2. The thread—also a form of content—is discoverable andviewable in the manner described above. Digital content to be associatedwith a location may take on any form, including, without limitation, theform of a textual message, a graphical image, such as a graphics filegenerated by the mobile device 104 via an integrated camera, a videofile, such as a video file generated by the mobile device 104 via anintegrated camera, such as an audio file generated by the mobile device104 via an integrated microphone, digital content for game, digitalcontent representing a discount or savings to be redeemed at a merchant,digital content representing a monetary value, a computer file, such asan executable program or data file, or any other form of digitalcontent.

According to some embodiments some content may be of more interest thanother content. For example, the user of mobile device 104 may have moreinterest in content generated by certain users, such those he knows,than by other users, such as those he does not know. The user may alsohave more interest in content that has been recently generated orchanged than he does in content that has been generated in the moredistant past. Similarly, the user may have more interest in content thathe has not viewed than in content he has already viewed. According tosome embodiments, to assist the user in discovering content suited tohis preferences, the mobile device permits the user to establish orselect filters that influence whether a given unit of content will berepresented as an icon within the field of view presented to the user.According to some embodiments, the mobile device directs a service callto the positional content platform 106; the service call includesparameters defining the region corresponding to the field of view, andfurther includes filter data (examples: date of creation of contentlater than a specified date, creator of content must be found within alist established by the user, content not previously viewed, etc.). Thepositional content platform 106 responds by returning a data set thatidentifies each unit of content that both satisfies the filterrequirements and is located within the aforementioned region. Thelocation associated with each such unit of content is also returned.This request and response transaction provides the mobile device 104with sufficient information to generate the field of view and to placeicons appropriately within the field of view, so that the icons actuallypresented in the field of view correspond to content satisfying thefilter requirements.

According to some embodiments, the system 100 includes a registrationprocess. The registration process requires a user to establish a username and a password, so that the user can later log into his account.The system also affords the user the opportunity to create anassociation between his own account and other users of the system 100.For example, the system 100 permits the user to assign a “friend” or“follower” or other relationship between his account and another user'saccount. According to some embodiments, these relationships may beimported from other platforms (example: “friends” may be imported fromFacebook®, and “followers” from Twitter®, etc.). According to someembodiments, these relationships may be used as filter criteria, so thatonly certain content ultimately ends up being represented as an icon ona user's field of view.

According to some embodiments, the system 100 presents an interface bywhich the user may define a region as a “place,” and may assign a nameto the place. For example, the mobile device 104 may present its userwith an interface allowing the user to define a place as the regiondetermined by the latitude and longitude of a given location L4, and aradius R1 extending from the location L4. According to some embodiments,the radius R1 may extend in two dimensions, while according to otherembodiments, the radius R1 may extend in three dimensions. According tosome embodiments, the mobile device 104 presents its user with aninterface by which its user may define a pair of latitudinal coordinatesLAT1 and LAT2 and a pair of longitudinal coordinates LONG1 and LONG2,thereby defining a place as the interior region defined by the pairs oflatitudinal coordinates LAT1 and LAT2 and longitudinal coordinates LONG1and LONG2. According to some embodiments, the mobile device 104 presentsits user with an interface by which its user may further specifyaltitude data, thereby defining a “place” as referring to a regiondefined as described above, at a particular altitude.

The system 100 allows a place or set of places to be associated with ause, so that the user can interact with a selected place in differentmanners. For example, one or more places can serve as filter criteria:represent as icons only those units of digital content associated withinthe region corresponding to a place prescribed by the user. Other usesof places, some of which are described herein, are also possible.

According to some embodiments, the system 100 provides notifications ofthe occurrence of certain events to the user. By way of example, andwithout limitation, a notification may take the form of a tone or audioindication from the mobile device 102 or 104, a vibration from themobile device 102 or 104, delivery of a notification to a “notificationcenter” of the mobile platform 102 or 104, presentation of a message onthe device's Lock Screen, presentation of a banner (optionally with amessage or number therein) superimposed over a button or icon, orpresentation of a badge superimposed upon a button or icon. According tosome embodiments, and by way of example, and without limitation, amobile device 102 or 104 may provide its user with a notification in theevent that: content was newly associated with a location in a defined“place”; that content was newly associated with a location within thefield of view of the user interface; that another user designated as a“friend” or “followed by” (or bearing some other relationship to theuser's account) has entered a location within a defined “place”; thatanother user designated as a “friend” or “followed by” (or bearing someother relationship to the user's account) has entered the field of viewof the user interface; that content has been created by another userdesignated as a “friend” or “followed by” (or bearing some otherrelationship to the user's account); that another user has responded toa unit of content that the user has created, such as by “replying” in athread. These notification are delivered asynchronously, being providedto the mobile device from the positional content platform 106 (in someinstances via an intermediary service offering “push” notificationservices), with the timing of the presentation of any particularnotification being a function of when the triggering event occurred, andwith the manner of presentation of the notification being a function ofthe configuration of the mobile device 102 or 104 and the state ofexecution of the application (example: the application is in theforeground, the application is in the background, the application isinactive, the device is asleep, etc.).

According to some embodiments, the system provides “newsfeeds” to theuser of the mobile device 102 or 104. In some embodiments, a newsfeed isa chronological queue of activity within the system 100 bearingcharacteristics that the action may be of interest to the user. The userinterface provides a screen that allows the user of the mobile device102 or 104 to view the newsfeed. According to some embodiments, eventsincluded in the newsfeed include those events that would trigger anotification. The occurrences of other events also are included in thenews feed, such as the number of responses in a thread surpassing athreshold, a “friend” registering as a user of the system 100, anotheruser followed by the user or who follows the user registering as a userof the system 100, etc.

According to some embodiments, the system 100 may access a publicapplication interface exposed by a social network or other externalplatform, in order to create a message (such as a “wall” posting, tweet,etc.) informing users of those platforms that a unit of content wasgenerated within the system 100. Optionally, the aforementioned messagemay include a hyperlink, permitting its viewer to select the link toview a webpage. The webpage referenced by the hyperlink may allow thevisitor to register for the service, or in the event that the visitor isalready registered, to log into his account, to view the content, or tointeract with the content (example: to respond to the content, as may bethe case in the context of a thread).

According to some embodiments, the platform 106 is programmed with a setof rules for conducting a game, the play of which is conducted at leastpartially through the encountering at a geographic location or region,viewing from or at a geographic location or region, placing at ageographic location or region or configuration of digital content to beplaced at a geographic location or region. The platform 106 furtherincludes rules and interfaces to permit encountering the game content,user reaction to such encounters, and manipulation of state variablesdefining a game's state in reaction to such encounters. The platform 106further includes rules and interfaces to permit viewing of the gamecontent, user reaction to such viewing, and manipulation of statevariables defining a game's state in reaction to such viewing. Theplatform 106 further includes rules and interfaces to permit placing thegame content in association with a geographic location, user reaction tosuch placements, and manipulation of state variables defining a game'sstate in reaction to such placements. The platform 106 further includesrules and interfaces to permit configuring the game content, userreaction to such configuration, and manipulation of state variablesdefining a game's state in reaction to such configuration.

FIG. 2 depicts a logical architecture of the positional content platform106, according to some embodiments. As can be seen from FIG. 2, thepositional content platform includes a service layer 200, a coredatabase application interface (API) 202, a logical data layer 204, aphysical data layer 206, and a web portal 208. Also depicted in FIG. 2is an application 210 executing on the mobile platform 102 and 104,which is referred to herein as the positional content application 210.

The positional content application 210 communicates with an API exposedvia the web services layer 200. The service layer 200 exposes API's tothe positional content application 210, permitting the positionalcontent application to cooperate with the positional content applicationto perform the operations and provide the features disclosed herein. Forexample, the web services layer may expose API's allowing creation ofcontent and association of the content with a location, allowingretrieval of content, allowing retrieval of attribute content within afield of view, allowing logging in or out of an account, etc.

Data constituting the positional digital content is stored in thephysical data layer 206, as is user account data and other data neededfor performance of the operations and features disclosed herein. Theservice layer 200 interacts with the data stored in the physical datalayer 206 through the core API's 202 exposed by the database server, andthrough stored procedures, schemas, and other tools pertaining to thelogical organization of the database 204.

According to some embodiments, the database 202, 204 and 206 is arelational database, while in other embodiments it is embodied as anobject oriented database, or as a graph database. Optionally, thephysical storage layer 206 may be distributed, and may optionally bearranged so that data from users in a particular geographic region isdedicated to a particular storage array, or may be optionally arrangedso that content associated with a given geographic region is stored inone array, while content associated with another geographic region isstored in a different array.

By way of illustration, the positional content application 210 can makea service call to the service layer 200 to obtain information needed toposition icons representative of data within the field of viewprevailing in its user interface, as has been discussed with referenceto FIG. 1. The service call contains data from which the geographicalrange corresponding to the field of view can be determined, and mayoptionally contain filter data. The service layer 200 responds byinterpreting the service call, and breaking it into a series of core APIcalls to the core database API layer 202, causing the API layer 202 tointeract with the physical data storage layer to retrieve the requesteddata. The requested data is then passed to the service layer, whichpackages the data in a way appropriate for transport to and ingestion bythe positional content application 210. Finally, the positional contentapplication 210 responds by unpacking the returned data and positioningicons on the field of view, pursuant to the data returned by the servicelayer 200.

According to some embodiments, the service layer 200 also interacts withthird party platforms in order to perform the operations and provide thefeatures disclosed herein. For example, the service layer 200 optionallyinteracts with social platforms 212 to ingest user account data, such asfriend lists, follower lists, and to post messages on those platforms.Similarly, the positional content application also optionally interactswith third party platforms, for reasons ranging from obtaining map orsatellite imagery (discussed in more detail herein), for interactionwith an authorization engine, such as an o-auth engine, and for otherreasons required for the performance of operations and provision offeatures disclosed herein.

According to some embodiments, the service layer 200 interacts with anotification service 212. The notification service 212 is an externalplatform exposes an API that provides clients the ability toasynchronously communicate data messages to the mobile devices 202 and204. The notification service 212 interacts with the operating system onthe mobile device 202 and 204, in lieu of the service layer 200 directlyperforming such an interaction, in order to control the flow ofnotification calls directed to any given mobile device 202 or 204. Theservice layer 200 call the notification service 212 in order to providethe notification functionality discussed above and in greater detailbelow.

It will be understood by one skilled in the art that the executionenvironment for the positional content platform may be embodied as asingle platform. Optionally, each of the elements of the positionalcontent platform may be executed on separate servers, and any number ofthe elements may be executed on a single server or distributed acrossany number of servers. Optionally, the servers may operate as a clusterto permit greater availability and faster response times, as is wellunderstood in the art.

FIG. 3 depicts an exemplary embodiment of a mobile device 102 or 104,according to some embodiments. As can be seen from FIG. 3, the mobiledevice 102 include an applications processor 300 and a basebandprocessor 302. Application processor 300 communicates information tobaseband processor 302, so that the baseband processor 302 can preparethe data, which may constitute voice data, or may constitute wirelessmobile internet data, for encoding, modulation and transmission via thetransceiver 304 and power amplifiers 306. During operation, theprocessors 300 and 302 have use of a multilevel cell memory 308, astatic RAM 310 and a synchronous dynamic RAM 312 for the storage andretrieval of executable code and data.

The mobile device 102 is provided with power through the cooperativeefforts of an optionally rechargeable battery 314, and two powermanagement modules 316 and 318, which serve to monitor the voltage ofthe battery 314, regulate voltage levels, activate and deactivatesubcircuits and input/output devices and other elements to conservepower, and perform other power management functions that are well knownin the art.

The mobile device 102 also includes microphone 320, speaker 322, andearpiece 324, which are coupled to the application processor 300 via anencoder/decoder module 326. The microphone 320, speaker 322 and earpiece324 are input/output devices used to perform various operations andprovide various aspects of features (such as enable various aspects ofcontent creation and content delivery) of the system 100 disclosedherein.

The application processor 300 is also coupled to a touch screencontroller 328, which controls the operation of a touch screen 330,which is the primary means of visual input/output capability of themobile device 102.

The mobile device 102 also optionally includes a camera 332 coupled tothe application processor, for capture of video imagery, which theprocessor stores as graphics files or video files, in formats wellunderstood by those of skill in the art.

Also coupled to the application processor 300 is a Wi-Fi and Bluetoothtransceiver 334, which optionally functions in accord with I.E.E.E.802.11a/b/g standards, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR and FM. The Wi-Fi and Bluetoothtransceiver 334 cooperates with the application processor 300 to provideWi-Fi connection to a communication network, such as the Internet.

The mobile device 102 includes a global positioning system (GPS)transceiver 336 which provides positional data to the applicationprocessor, so that the operating system of the device 102 can providelocation services, such as providing latitudinal, longitudinal andaccuracy data to application executing on the mobile platform 102.

The mobile device 102 also optionally includes a magnetic sensor 338,which senses the magnetic polarity of the earth, and providesdirectional information to the processor 300. Also, the mobile device102 optionally includes an accelerometer 340 for detecting forces actingupon the accelerometer 340, such as forces originating from accelerationof the mobile device 102 or from gravity or the like. The accelerometerprovides its data to the processor 300. The mobile device 102 alsooptionally includes a gyroscope 342 that detects rotation of the mobiledevice 102 about its three axes, and provides the rotational informationto the processor 300. The mobile device 102 may also include a serialport 344 that is coupled to the processor 300 via a serial portcontroller 346, for the communication of serial data to and from theprocessor 300, for the delivery of direct current power to the device102 and for other functions known to those of skill in the art.

FIG. 4 depicts a user interface 400 presented by the positional contentapplication 210, according to some embodiments. In the depiction of FIG.4, user interface 400 presents a screen that may be used for locatingcontent stored on the positional content platform 106. Given theparticular active screen in FIG. 4, the user interface 400 includes afield of view 402. The field of view 402 corresponds to a region ofgeography on earth. In the particular embodiment depicted in FIG. 4, amap is depicted within the field of view to help 402 the user determinethe particular region to which the field of view 402 corresponds,although this need not be the case.

As can be seen from FIG. 4, content icons 404 are superimposed over thefield of view 402. Each content icon 404 represents a unit of digitalcontent stored in the positional content platform 106. The position ofany given content icon 404 within the field of view 402 corresponds tothe geographic position associated with content represented by the icon.In other words, if a user of the positional content platform 106 electsto create content and associate it with the intersection of 50^(th)Street and France Avenue (or the longitude and latitude correspondingwith intersection of 50^(th) Street and France Avenue), then the contenticon 404 representing that content is positioned at the point within thefield of view corresponding to the intersection of 50^(th) Street andFrance Avenue. If a map is displayed in the background, the content icon404 appears at the intersection 50^(th) Street and France Avenue on themap.

Optionally, the color of a content icon 404 may be determined by certaincharacteristics of the content represented by the icon. For example, acontent icon 404 may appear in a first color, such as red, in the eventthat the content represented by the icon 404 makes reference to (or“tags”) the user account into which the positional content application210 is currently logged in. A content icon 404 may appear in a secondcolor, such as green, in the event that any unit of content representedby the icon 404 was created by a user account associated with thecurrently logged-in account (example: the underlying content containscontent created by a user account designated as a “friend,” “follower”or a user that the presently logged-in user account has designated to asa user account to “follow.”). A content icon 404 may appear in a thirdcolor, such as black, in the event that the content represented by theicon 404 has neither of the previously recited characteristics, and istherefore simply public content.

In the event that more than one unit of content is associated with thesame geographic position or very similar geographic positions, the fieldof view 402 could become cluttered with content icons 404 that interferewith one another. To prevent such cluttering, icons that would otherwiseinterfere with one another are represented by a single aggregator icon406. Several aggregator icons 406 are depicted in the field of view 402.Optionally, an aggregator icon 406 may bear a number on its face, withthe number representing the number of underlying units of content theaggregator icon 406 represents. According to some embodiments, the colorof an aggregator icon 406 may be determined by the characteristics ofthe various units of content is represents in a manner similar to thatdescribed with reference to a content icon 404. For example, anaggregator icon 406 may appear in a first color, such as red, in theevent that any of the units of content represented by the icon 406 makesreference to (or “tags”) the user account into which the positionalcontent application 210 is currently logged in. An aggregator icon 406may appear in a second color, such as green, in the event that any unitof content represented by the icon 406 was created by a user accountassociated with the currently logged-in account (example: any unit ofthe underlying content contains content created by a user accountdesignated as a “friend,” “follower” or a user that the presentlylogged-in user account has designated to as a user account to“follow.”). An aggregator icon 406 may appear in a third color, such asblack, in the event that the content represented by the icon 406 hasneither of the previously recited characteristics, and is thereforesimply public content.

FIG. 5 depicts a method for placing the content icon 404 and aggregatoricons 406 on the field of view 402. According to one embodiment, themethod of FIG. 5 is executed by the mobile device 102 or 104. Inoperation 500, a field of view 402 is displayed in the user interface400. As has previously been discussed, the field of view 402 correspondsto a geographic region of earth. In operation 502, a service call issent to the service layer 200. The service call may include field ofview data, so that the service layer 200 can determine the currentlyactive field of view in the user interface 400. In response to havingsent the service call, the positional content application 210 receives aresponse thereto. The aforementioned response includes data that isdescriptive of the individual units of content within the field of view402, including locational data for each such unit, and, optionally,other summary data for each such unit, including data required for icon404 and 406 color determination and information required for contentsummary display, as shown in FIG. 6.

Operations 508-518 can be performed as a single operation in the eventof a single unit of content being within the field of view 402, and inthe further event that the position and orientation of the mobile device102 or 104 is known, which may be the case, for example, if the positionand orientation was determined by user selection, as opposed tocorresponding to the actual physical location and orientation of thedevice 102 or 104, or, for example, if the position and orientation werepreviously determined. Given the aforementioned scenario, operation 506is performed by positioning an icon within the field of view 402 of theuser interface 400 as a function of the position associated with thecontent represented by the icon.

On the other hand, assuming that the conditions recited above are notsatisfied, operation 506 may be broken into operations 508-518. Inoperation 508, the position and orientation of the mobile device 102 or104 is determined, for example, through use of an on-board gyroscope andGPS unit integral with the mobile device 102 or 104. In operation 508,for example, through calls to location and rotation services in theunit's 102 or 104 operating system, information concerning the unit's102 or 104 latitude, longitude, altitude, longitudinal accuracy,latitudinal accuracy, vertical accuracy, and rotation around each of thex, y, and z axes may be determined.

In operation 510, the on-screen position of each icon is determined, asa function of the dimensions of field of view 402, the location of eachunderlying unit of content, and optionally the position and orientationof the mobile device 102 or 104 or chosen position for anchoring of thefield of view 402. In query operation 512, is determined whether any ofthe icons 402 or 404 would overlap one another. If not, operation 514 isperformed, and each icon 402 is superimposed on the field of view 402 inthe position determined in operation 510. On the other hand, if one ormore icons 404 or 406 would, in fact, overlap, then, in operation 516,the overlapping icons are “grouped” and represented as an aggregatoricon 406 until there exist no overlapping icons 404 or 406. Finally, inoperation 518, each icon 402 or 404 is superimposed on the field of view402 in the position determined in operation 516.

One of skill in the art will understand that the order of operationsshown herein need not be preserved, and that operations may be performedin different orders or concurrently. For example, operation 500 andoperations 502 may be performed in any order or at the same time. One ofordinary skill in the art will understand that other such operations mayalso be performed in sequences other than those shown in FIG. 5 (or inany other Figure depicting a method flow).

The user interface 400 also includes a series of selectable buttons408-416, the functions of each are the topic of further discussionherein, below.

The user interface 400 further includes a main menu button 418, theselection of which directs the user to a main menu allowing the user toperform various utilitarian operations not of interest in this document,but which will readily present themselves to the mind of one of ordinaryskill in the art (manage user account information, etc.).

The user interface also includes a selectable notification button 420,the function of which is the topic of further discussion herein, below.

The user interface 400 also includea a location button 422 the functionof which is the topic of further discussion herein, below.

The field of view 402 also a position indicator 424. The positionindicator 424 may be positioned as a function of GPS data, i.e.,positioned within the field of view 402 to correspond with the actualdetected location of the mobile device 102 or 104. As discussed below,certain features of the positional content platform associate content orotherwise function based on the position of the position indicator.According to some embodiments, the position indicator 424 always remainscentered in the field of view 402. The user may “swipe” his fingeracross the touch-screen of the mobile device 102 or 104 to scroll thefield of view 402 in the direction of his finger swipe. In that event,the position indicator 424 remains centered within the field of view402, so that the position indicator 402 effectively changes itsposition, thereby affecting certain functions and features of theplatform 106.

According to some embodiments, the content icons 404 are selectable.Upon selection of a content icon, a content summary 600 is displayed, asdepicted in FIG. 6. Typically, the unit of content will be a thread, inthat it will be constituted of a plurality of sub-units of content, eachof which is, in one form or another, a reply to the original sub-unit ofcontent. Together, each of the sub-units of content constitutes athread, or a single unit of content. The content summary 600 may includethe following data, each of which is optional: the user name of thecreator of the original sub-unit of content; the user name of thecreator of the most recently created sub-unit of content in the thread(or unit); an indication, in absolute or relative terms, of when theoriginal sub-unit of content was created; an indication, in absolute orrelative terms, of when the most recently created sub-unit was created;a picture or graphical image associated with the account of the creatorof the original sub-unit of content; a picture or graphical imageassociated with the account of the creator of the most recently createdsub-unit of content; an indication of the number of sub-units of contentin the thread; an indication of the number of creators of sub-unitswithin the thread that have been designated as being associated (as afriend/follower, etc.) with the user account currently logged in; anindication of the number of sub-units in the thread in which thelogged-in user account had been referenced (or “tagged”). The precedinglist is presented by way of example and not by way of limitation. Othertypes of summary data will readily present themselves to one of ordinaryskill in the art.

The content summary 600 includes a selectable close button 602, which,when selected, causes the content summary 600 to vanish from the userinterface 400. On the other hand, in response to selection of thecontent summary 600, the positional content application 210 causes theuser interface 400 to present a content detail 700, an embodiment ofwhich is depicted in FIG. 7.

As can be seen in FIG. 7, the content detail 700 presents a thread orunit of content, which is, in turn, constituted of sub-units 702, 704,706 and 708. Each sub-unit 702, 704, 706 and 708 has a creator that is auser registered on the positional content platform 106. Each sub-unit isintroduced into the thread depicted in FIG. 7 as either a response tothe original sub-unit of content 702, or as a response to anothersub-unit 704-708 in the thread. Optionally, the content detail 700 maypresent each sub-unit 702, 704, 706 and 708 in a sequential, indentedformat, with each sub-unit 702, 704, 706 and 708 being presentedbeneath, and indented to the right of, the particular sub-unit 702, 704,706 and 708 to which it is a response. Each sub-unit of content 702,704, 706 and 708 may include, by way of example only, and not by way oflimitation, textual information, graphical imagery, video imagery, audiocontent, and other forms of digital content, which will readily presentthemselves to the minds of those of ordinary skill in the art.

The content detail 700 also includes a selectable “back” button 710,when, when selected causes the positional content application 210 topresent the content summary 600, such as the one presented in FIG. 6.The content detail 700 also includes a selectable close button 712,which, when selected, causes the content detail 700 to vanish from theuser interface 400.

Each sub-unit of content 702, 704, 706 and 708 is presented with aselectable “reply” button 714 presented in a footer below the sub-unit702, 704, 706 and 708. Selection of the reply button 714 in the footerof a particular sub-unit 702, 704, 706 and 708 of content permits theuser to create a sub-unit of content for inclusion in the thread as aresponse to the particular sub-unit 702, 704, 706 and 708 of content. Toenable the user to create such response content, the positional contentapplication 210 presents a create comment screen 800 in the userinterface.

According to some embodiments, a content detail 700 or content summary600 or other unit of content associated with a location may be presentedto the user via the user interface, in response to the user entering aregion, without requiring the user to make any selection via the userinterface or otherwise perform any other action. For example, a messageor a coupon or other unit of content representing a discount or rebateto be redeemed or applied to a purchase may be associated with ageographic region. In the event that a user enters the region, thecontent is presented to the user. For example, a message instructing auser to travel to another particular region may be presented to the userin response to the user being detected within a region associated withthe message. After delivery of the message, if the user is detected inthe aforementioned other particular region, a unit of contentrepresenting a discount or coupon may be presented to the user via themobile device 102.

According to some embodiments, a unit of content may be completelyviewable by a particular user only if that user pays a fee, such as asubscription fee or a pay-per-view fee. For example, a particularcontent summary 600 may represent such a unit of content. In response toselection of the content summary 600, the user is presented with amessage explaining that the content, itself, or the content detail 700,is viewable or encounterable, only if the user first pays a pay-per-viewfee or subscription fee. Optionally, the message contains a link to aset of checkout pages that permit the user to tender payments. Inresponse to successful processing of the user's payment, the user mayselect the content summary, and encounter or view the underlying contentdetail 700 or content.

FIG. 8 depicts a create comment screen 800 in accordance with someembodiments. The create comment screen 800 includes a keyboard 802 and acontent editing area 804. By virtue of typing on the keyboard 802,corresponding text appears in the content editing area 804. Other formsof content may also be introduced into the content editing area 804. Forexample, the create comment screen 800 also includes a camera button806, which, when selected causes the positional content application 210to present a camera/video interface, by which still and moving videofiles may be created via a camera on-board the mobile device 102 or 104and introduced into the content editing area 804. Alternatively, theuser may introduce previously captured still and moving video files byselection of the gallery button 808, which presents a gallery ofpreviously captured pictures and videos for selection and inclusion inthe content editing area 804.

The create comment screen 800 also includes a tag button 810, whichpresents a list of selectable user accounts associated with theparticular user account that is logged in. Upon selection of one or moreof the presented user accounts, the sub-unit of content ultimatelycreated via the create comment screen 800 is “tagged” to the selecteduser account(s), thereby optionally generating an alert to the “tagged”user account, generating a news feed entry to the tagged user account,altering the color of the corresponding content icon 404 or aggregatoricon 406 when viewed via the tagged user account, etc.

The create comment screen 800 contains a post button 812. Upon selectionof the post content button 812, the contents of the content editing area804 is included as a response sub-unit of content to the particularsub-unit of content to which the user selected “reply.” Optionally, GPSdata regarding the location of the mobile device at the time ofselection of the post content button 812 is also obtained and saved bythe positional content platform 106, although, according to oneembodiment, the position associated with the thread, itself, is notinfluenced by the positional information of any of the responsesub-units of content, i.e., the thread remains positioned at theoriginal position of the original sub-unit of content.

Finally, the create content screen contains a back button 814. Uponselection of the back button 814, the user interface returns topresenting the content detail screen, such as the embodiment depicted inFIG. 7.

In the passages herein discussing FIG. 4, aggregator icons 406 weredisclosed. To review, an aggregator icon 406 is an icon that representsa plurality of individual units of content associated with locations inexceptional proximity to one another, such that the placement ofindividual content icons 404 in a field of view 402 would not befeasible, due to interference/overlap between the content icons 404.According to some embodiments, aggregator icons 406 are selectable. Inresponse to selection of an aggregator icon 406 by a user, an aggregatorsummary 900 is presented in the user interface 400 by the positionalcontent application 210.

The aggregator summary 900 is a modified version of the content summary600. To create the aggregator summary 900, the positional contentapplication 210 analyzes each of the units of content represented by theaggregator icon 406, and determines which individual unit of content ismost connected to the user account that is presently logged into theapplication 210. According to one embodiment, for each sub-unitrepresented by a particular aggregator icon 406, the positional contentapplication 210 sums together the number of times its sub-units ofcontent tags the user account that is presently logged into theapplication 210 and the number of its sub-units created byfriends/followers/followees of the user account that is presently loggedinto the application 210; the unit of content with the greatest possiblesum is designated as unit of content that is most connected to the useraccount that is presently logged into the application 210. Theaggregator summary 900 is a content summary 600 of the aforementioneddesignated unit of content.

The aggregator summary 900 includes a selectable close button 902,which, when selected, causes the aggregator summary 900 to vanish fromthe user interface 400. On the other hand, in response to selection ofthe aggregator summary 900, the positional content application 210causes the user interface 400 to present an aggregator detail 1000, anembodiment of which is depicted in FIG. 10.

As can be seen from FIG. 10, the aggregator detail 1000 includes asummary area 1002 and a quick-filter area 1004. The summary area 1002contains individual content summary data 600 of each unit of contentrepresented by the aggregator icon 406. The summary area 1002 isscrollable. According to one embodiment, a user may swipe his or herfinger vertically along the touch screen area containing the summaryarea 1002, causing the summary area to scroll, and the particularcontent summaries 600 contained therein to change, in order toaccommodate circumstances in which there are more content summaries 600than can fit within the summary area 1002. Selection of a particularcontent summary 600 causes the corresponding content detail 700, such asthe embodiment depicted in FIG. 7, to be presented.

The quick-filter area 1004 contains three buttons: a public quick-filterbutton 1006, a friends-only quick-filter button 1008 and a taggedquick-filter button 1010. Selection of the public quick-filter button1006 has two effects. First, it causes the summary area 1002 to bepopulated by all content summaries 600 of units of content representedby the aggregator icon 406, regardless of the creators of that unit'sindividual sub-units of content. Second, selection of the publicquick-filter button 1006 unselects the friends-only quick-filter button1008.

Selection of the friends-only quick-filter button 1008 has two effects.First, it causes the summary area 1002 to be populated by only thosecontent summaries 600 of units of content having sub-units that werecreated by user accounts that had been designated as friends of theparticular user account presently logged into the positional contentapplication 210. Second, selection of the friends-only quick-filterbutton 1008 unselects the public quick-filter button 1006.

Selection of the tagged quick-filter button 1010 causes the summary areato be populated by only those content summaries 600 of units of contenthaving sub-units that “tag” the particular user account presently loggedinto the positional content application 210.

The aggregator detail 1000 also includes a back button 1012, theselection of which returns the user interface to the aggregator summary900, such as the particular embodiment depicted in FIG. 9.

FIG. 11 depicts a create content screen 1100, according to someembodiments. The create content screen 1100 is presented in the userinterface 400, in response to selection of the create new content button408 along the bottom edge of the field of view 402. The create contentscreen 1100 includes a keyboard 1102 and a content editing area 1104. Byvirtue of typing on the keyboard 1102, corresponding text appears in thecontent editing area 1104. Other forms of content may also be introducedinto the content editing area 1104. For example, the create contentscreen 1100 also includes a camera button 1106, which, when selectedcauses the positional content application 210 to present a camera/videointerface, by which still and moving video files may be created via acamera on-board the mobile device 102 or 104 and introduced into thecontent editing area 1104.

FIG. 12 depicts a camera/video interface 1200, in accordance with someembodiments. The camera/video interface 1200 is presented in response toselection of the camera button 1106 in the create content screen 1100.The camera/video interface 1200 includes a display region 1202. Thedisplay region 1202 present real-time imagery as it is being capturedfrom the on-board camera 332 (FIG. 3). The user may select the capturebutton 1204 to capture the image currently presented in the displayregion 1202. In the event that the slide selector 1206 is set to the“camera” mode, the captured image is stored as an in image file, and isintroduced into the content editing area 1104, as shown in FIG. 13. Onthe other hand, in the event that the slide selector 1206 is set to the“video” mode, a video file is captured, with the start of the video filebeing triggered by the initial selection of the capture button 1204, andthe end of the video file being triggered by the subsequent selection ofthe capture button 1204. According to some embodiments, the video fileis introduced into the content editing area 1104 in a manner like theimage content was introduced. The camera/video interface 1200 alsoincludes a “back” button 1208, selection of which causes the userinterface 400 to return to the create content screen 1100.

The create content screen 1100 also includes a gallery button 1108. Theuser may introduce previously captured still and moving video files byselection of the gallery button 1108, which presents a gallery ofpreviously captured pictures and videos for selection and inclusion inthe content editing area 1104.

The create content screen 1100 also includes a tag button 1110, whichpresents a list of selectable user accounts associated with theparticular user account that is logged in. Upon selection of one or moreof the presented user accounts, the sub-unit of content ultimatelycreated via the create content screen 1100 is “tagged” to the selecteduser account(s), thereby optionally generating an alert to the “tagged”user account, generating a news feed entry to the tagged user account,altering the color of the corresponding content icon 404 or aggregatoricon 406 when viewed via the tagged user account, etc.

The create content screen 1100 also includes a visibility button 1112that controls the set of users of the positional content platform 106that can find and view the content. According to some embodiments, thevisibility button 1112 functions as a toggle button, and can be in oneof two states: “friends only,” in which case the content created in thecontent editing area 1104 and ultimately included in the thread, isvisible only to those users of the positional content platform 106 thathave been designated as having a “friend” relationship with the useraccount presently logged into the positional content application 210;and “public,” in which case the content created in the content editingarea 1104 and ultimately included in the thread, is visible to all usersof the positional content platform 106.

The create content screen 1100 contains a post content button 1114. Uponselection of the post content button 1114, position data is associatedwith the content. In the event that the field of view 402 is presentingthe current location of the mobile device 102 or 104, then GPS dataregarding the location of the mobile device 102 or 104 at the time ofselection of the post content button 1114 is obtained and associatedwith the content. In the event that the user has elected to manuallycenter the field of view 402 about another location, then the content isassociated with the positional data of the aforementioned otherlocation. The content, associated locational data and data concerningthe populace of users permitted to view the data is sent to the servicelayer 200 via a service call. In response, the service layer 200 storesthe content (and aforementioned associated data) in physical databasestorage 206, meaning that the unit of content becomes discoverable andviewable by the chosen user population at the chosen location.

Finally, the create content screen 1100 contains a back button 1116.Upon selection of the back button 1116, the user interface returns topresenting the field of view 402, such as the embodiment depicted inFIG. 4.

FIG. 14 depicts a method carried out by the positional contentapplication 210 for creating content, according to some embodiments. Ascan be seen from FIG. 14, the method commences with operation 1400, inwhich the positional content application 210 displaying a user interface400 that presents a field of view 402 representative of a region onearth. In operation 1402, the positional content application 210presents a user interface by which a user may generate digital content.Additionally, in operation 1404, the positional content application 210presents an on the user interface 400 a selectable option to render thedigital content discoverable only by other users designated by said user(such as friends), or to render the content discoverable by all otherusers of the positional content platform 106. Next, in operation 1406,the content is created by aggregating the content together with thechosen positional data and data concerning the population of userspermitted to discover the content. Finally, in operation 1408, the aservice call is sent to the service layer 200. The service call includesthe positional data, the digital content and the data concerning thepopulation of users permitted to discover the content. In response, theservice layer 200 stores the content (and aforementioned associateddata) in physical database storage 206, meaning that the unit of contentbecomes discoverable and viewable by the chosen user population at thechosen location.

FIG. 15 depicts a filter menu 1500, presented atop the field of view402. The filter menu 1500 is presented in the user interface 400, inresponse to selection of the filter menu button 410 along the bottomedge of the field of view 402. According to some embodiments, the filtermenu includes four selection items: a filter-by-people item 1502; afilter-by-date item 1504; a filter-by-place item 1506; and afilter-by-type item 1508. Selection of each of the aforementioned items1502-1508 presents various interfaces permitting the user to establishfilter criteria. By virtue of application of such criteria, icons 404and 406 will be presented within the field of view 402 if and only ifthe units of content referenced by the icons 404 and 406 meet theestablished filter criteria.

In response to selection of the filter-by-people item 1502, an interfaceis presented. The interface permits the user to establish various filtercriteria. For example, the interface presents options permitting theuser to establish the following criteria for presentation within thefield of view 402: the creator of unit of content is a friend; creatorof any sub-unit of content within a unit of content is a friend; thecreator of unit of content is a follower; the creator of any sub-unit ofcontent within a unit of content is a follower; the creator of unit ofcontent is followed; the creator of any sub-unit of content within aunit of content is followed; the unit of content tags the user accountthat is presently logged into the positional content application 210;any sub-unit of content within the unit of content tags the user accountthat is presently logged into the positional content application 210;the unit of content tags any user account that is designated as afriend; and, any sub-unit of content of a unit of content tags any useraccount that is designated as a friend. The preceding list is exemplary,and is not limiting. According to some embodiments, multiple filtercriteria are applied conjunctively. According to some embodiments,multiple filter criteria are applied disjunctively.

In response to selection of the filter-by-date item 1504, an interfaceis presented. The interface permits the user to establish various filtercriteria. For example, the interface presents options permitting theuser to establish the following criteria for presentation within thefield of view 402: the unit of content was created or changed within thepresent day; any sub-unit of content within the unit of content wascreated or changed within the present day; the unit of content wascreated or changed within a chosen period of time; and, any sub-unit ofcontent within the unit of content was created or changed within achosen period of time. The preceding list is exemplary, and is notlimiting. According to some embodiments, multiple filter criteria areapplied conjunctively. According to some embodiments, multiple filtercriteria are applied disjunctively.

In response to selection of the filter-by-place item 1506, an interfaceis presented. The interface permits the user to establish various filtercriteria. For example, the interface presents options permitting theuser to establish the following criteria for presentation within thefield of view 402: the unit of content is associated with a locationwithin a region designated as a place; the unit of content is associatedwith a location within a region that is designated a particular place orset of places chosen from a list. The preceding list is exemplary, andis not limiting. According to some embodiments, multiple filter criteriaare applied conjunctively. According to some embodiments, multiplefilter criteria are applied disjunctively.

In response to selection of the filter-by-type item 1508, an interfaceis presented. The interface permits the user to establish various filtercriteria. For example, the interface presents options permitting theuser to establish the following criteria for presentation within thefield of view 402: the unit of content includes text; the unit ofcontent contains text only; the unit of content or any of its sub-unitscontains text; the unit of content and any of its sub-units containstext only; the unit of content includes an image; the unit of contentcontains an image only; the unit of content or any of its sub-unitscontains an image; the unit of content and any of its sub-units containsan image only; the unit of content includes video; the unit of contentcontains video only; the unit of content or any of its sub-unitscontains video; the unit of content and any of its sub-units containsvideo only; the unit of content includes audio; the unit of contentcontains audio only; the unit of content or any of its sub-unitscontains audio; and, the unit of content and any of its sub-unitscontains audio only. The preceding list is exemplary, and is notlimiting. According to some embodiments, multiple filter criteria areapplied conjunctively. According to some embodiments, multiple filtercriteria are applied disjunctively.

The filter menu 1500 also includes a back button 1510. Selection of theback button 1510 causes the filter menu 1500 to vanish from the userinterface, restoring the view to the field of view 402.

FIG. 16 depicts a view menu 1600, presented atop the field of view 402.The view menu 1600 is presented in the user interface 400, in responseto selection of the view menu button 412 along the bottom edge of thefield of view 402. According to some embodiments, the view menu 1600includes six selection items: a list item 1602; a map item 1604; asatellite item 1606; a 5-D Vision item 1608; and, a game counsel item1610. Selection of each of the aforementioned items 1602-1610 affectsthe field of view 402 in some manner.

Selection of the list item 1602 causes the field of view 402 to bereplaced by a simple ordered list of all of the units of content withinthe field of view 402. This view may be convenient in a particularlycrowded environment.

Selection of the map item 1604 causes the field of view 402 to display amap of the roads and other features of interest, so that the user canrelate the field of view 402 to a specific geographic region.

Selection of the map item 1606 causes the field of view 402 to display asatellite imagery of the geographic region corresponding to the field ofview 402, so that the user can observe a top view of the physicalenvironment in the geographic region corresponding to the field of view402.

Selection of the 5-D item 1608 causes the field of view 402 to bepresented in accordance with the 5-D view described with reference toFIG. 20.

Selection of the game counsel item cause the field of view 402 toinclude units of content that are part of a game played through thepositional content platform.

The view menu 1600 also includes a back button 1612. Selection of theback button 1612 causes the view menu 1600 to vanish from the userinterface 400.

FIG. 17 depicts a search menu 1700, presented atop the field of view402. The search menu 1700 is presented in the user interface 400, inresponse to selection of the search button 414 along the bottom edge ofthe field of view 402. According to some embodiments,

A text box 1702 is presented. Within the text box 1702, the user mayenter the name of a previously designated “place” or may enter anaddress. In either event, the positional content application 210responds by adjusting the field of view 402 so that the positionindicator 424, which according to one embodiment remains centered in thefield of view 402, is located at the “place” or address entered in thetext box 1702. The search menu 1700 also includes a cancel button 1704,the selection of which causes the search menu 1700 to vanish from theuser interface 400.

FIG. 18 depicts a mark place interface 1800, presented atop the field ofview 402. The mark place interface 1800 is presented in the userinterface 400, in response to selection of the mark place button 416along the bottom edge of the field of view 402. According to someembodiments, the mark place interface 1800 includes a text box 1802. Byentry of a name within the text box 1802, a region defined by thelocation of the position indicator 424 and a radius extending outwardlytherefrom is associated with the name, and designated as a place. Thus,data defining the region, and the chosen name of the region, arecommunicated to the service layer 200 for storage in the physicalstorage layer 206, thereby designating a specified geographic region asa “place.” According to some embodiments, the aforementioned radius isof a length that is determined as a default value. According someembodiments, the aforementioned radius has a selectable length.According to some embodiments, a place is defined as a region bounded bya pair of longitudinal coordinates and a pair of latitudinalcoordinated, with the region being centered about the geographicposition corresponding to the position indicator 424.

According to some embodiments, the mark place interface 1800 includes apair of scope buttons 1804. The pair of scope buttons 1804 indicates thechosen scope of population of users that can recognize the designatedgeographic region as a place. If the pair of scope buttons 1804 isselected to “on,” then all of the users of the platform 106 willrecognize the aforementioned region as a “place.” On the other hand, ifthe pair of scope buttons 1804 is set to “off,” then only those usersdesignated as friends can recognize the designated geographic region asa place. Information pertaining to the selected population scope iscommunicated in the above-described service call for storage in thephysical storage layer 206.

The mark place interface 1800 also includes a cancel button 1806, theselection of which causes the mark place interface 1800 to vanish fromthe user interface 400.

FIG. 19 depicts a positional selection menu 1900, presented atop thefield of view 402. The positional selection menu 1900 is presented inthe user interface 400, in response to selection of the positionalselection button 422 along the top edge of the field of view 402.According to some embodiments, the positional selection menu 1900includes a current location item 1902 and a set 1904 of “places” thathave been previously designated, such as through use of the interfacedescribed with reference to FIG. 18. Selection of the current locationitem 1902 causes the positional content application 210 to shift thefield of view 402, so that it is centered about the current locationindicted by the GPS system of the mobile device 102 or 104, meaning thatthe position indicator 424 is positioned at the current location of themobile device 102 or 104. The user may also select a previouslydesignated place from the set 1904 of places presented in the menu.Selection of a “place” from the menu causes the positional contentapplication 210 to shift the field of view 402, so that it is centeredabout the region associated with the place, meaning that the positionindicator 424 is positioned at the center of the geographic regionassociated with the place.

According to some embodiments, the positional selection menu 1900includes a search button 1906. Selection of the search button presents atext box, permitting the user to enter the name of a previouslydesignated “place.” The positional content application 210 responds in amanner identical to its response if the place was selected from the menuitems 1904. According to some embodiments, the user may enter a streetaddress, causing the positional content application to shift the fieldof view 402, so that it is centered about location associated with thestreet address, meaning that the position indicator 424 is positioned atthe center of the region associated with the street address.

FIG. 20 depicts a field of view 402, as it is presented after selectionof the 5-D item 1608 from the view menu 1600 (FIG. 160). The field ofview 402 as presented in FIG. 18 includes imagery 2000 presented inreal-time from the camera 322 on-board the mobile device 102 or 104.According to some embodiments, the 5-D field of view 402 includescontent summaries 600 and aggregator summaries 900 super imposed overthe real-time imagery 2000 (this is depicted in FIG. 20). According toother embodiments, the 5-D field of view includes content icons 404 andaggregator icons 406.

According to some embodiments, the positional content application 210determines its current location and orientation of the phone using theon-board GPS system and gyroscope, for example. For example, theapplication 210 determines that the mobile device 102 or 104 is locatedat the intersection of a particular latitude and particular longitude,and is oriented such that the rear surface of the phone is pointed 35°off of magnetic north. The application 210 then constructs a regionbased upon the detected position and orientation. The constructed regionserves as the field of view 402. For example, the application may createa region defined as the geographic space within a particular radius(example: 200 meters) of the current position of the device 102 or 104,and within a certain tolerance (for example, within ±15° of the detectedorientation). Carrying on the example, the constructed region is definedas: the set of geographic space within 200 meters of the currentlocation of the mobile device, and between 20° and 50° off of magneticnorth. The application sends a service call to the service layer 200 toquery the database 202 for content within the constructed field of view.In response to having sent the service call, the positional contentapplication 210 receives a response from the service layer 200. Theresponse includes data that is descriptive of the individual units ofcontent within the constructed field of view 402, including locationaldata for each such unit, and, optionally, other summary data for eachsuch unit, including data required for icon 404 and 406 colordetermination and information required for content summary 600 displayor aggregator summary 900 display. The application superimposes theicons 404 and 406 or summaries 600 and 900 on the display in a mannersimilar to that described with reference to FIG. 5. According to someembodiments, the vertical positioning of an icon 404 and 406 or summary600 and 900 is determined by the geographic distance between the currentlocation of the mobile device and location associated with the unit ofcontent reference by the icon 404 and 406 or summary 600 and 900. Forexample, icons 404 and 406 or summaries 600 and 900 referencingrelatively closer content may appear closer to the bottom edge of thescreen, while icons 404 and 406 or summaries 600 and 900 referencingrelatively further content may appear closer to the top edge of thescreen. According to some embodiments, the horizontal positioning of anicon 404 and 406 or summary 600 and 900 is determined by a polarexpression of the location associated with the content reference by aparticular icon 404 and 406 or summary 600 and 900. For example, aparticular unit of content may be positioned at a distance, d, from thecurrent position of the device 102 or 104, and at an angle, θ, from thedetected orientation. If the angle, θ, is close to zero, then the icon404 and 406 or summary 600 and 900 is presented close to the center ofthe screen. On the other hand, if the angle, θ, is close to theaforementioned negative or positive tolerance (carrying the previousexample forward: θ is close to ±15° from the detected orientation), theicon 404 and 406 or summary 600 and 900 is presented close to eitheredge of the screen.

FIG. 21 depicts a notifications center 2100, in accordance with someembodiments. According to some embodiments, while the positional contentapplication 210 is executing in the foreground, upon the occurrence ofan even that would trigger a notification (see the discussion withrespect to FIG. 1 pertaining to notifications), a distinctive audiofile, such as beeps, or tones, or a music clip, etc., is played,alerting the user to the presence of a notification. According to someembodiments, while the positional content application 210 is executingin the foreground, upon the occurrence of an even that would trigger anotification, the application 210 causes the mobile device 102 or 104 tovibrate. According to some embodiments, in addition to theaforementioned audio and vibrational indications of a notification, thenotifications icon 420 is badged in response to the occurrence of anevent that triggers a notification. For example, as can be seen in FIG.4, the notifications icon 420 therein is superimposed with a badgebearing the number “11.” According to some embodiments the badge bears anumber indicating the number of unviewed notifications that haveoccurred.

According to some embodiments, the notifications icon 420 is selectable.In response to selection of the notifications icon, the notificationscenter 2100 is presented in the user interface 400. As can be seen fromFIG. 21, the notifications center 2100 includes individual notificationdetails 2102 and 2104. Each notification detail 2102 or 2104 containsinformation concerning the nature of the event that triggered thenotification. For example, a notification detail 2102 or 2104 may statethe date, time, location and identity, etc. of a creator of a unit ofcontent, or a notification detail 2102 or 2104 may include informationstating the date and time that a particular user account was observedentering or exiting a designated place.

According to some embodiments, in the event that the application is notexecuting in the foreground, the occurrence of a notification isindicated by the presentation of a banner containing a messageindicating that the notification has occurred. Optionally, theoccurrence may also be indicated by the playing of an audio file, or bya vibration. The user may then bring the positional content application210 to the foreground and view the notification detail 2102 or 2104 inthe notification center 2100, as described above.

According to some embodiments, in the event that the application 210 isnot executing in the foreground, because the mobile device is in a“sleep” state, the occurrence of a notification is indicated by thepresentation of a message on the lock screen of the device 102 or 104.Optionally, the occurrence may also be indicated by the playing of anaudio file, or by a vibration. The user may then bring the positionalcontent application 210 to the foreground and view the notificationdetail 2102 or 2104 in the notification center 2100, as described above.Optionally, the message on the lock screen may be configured so that inresponse to the user “swiping” his finger across the message, the useris presented with the notification center in order to view thecorresponding notification detail 2102 or 2104.

The notifications center 2100 also includes a clear button 2106.Selection of the clear buttons causes the notification details 2102 and2104 contained within the notification center 2100 to be deleted, andtherefore removes the badging from the notifications icon 420.

The notifications center 2100 also includes a back button 2108.Selection of the back button 210 causes the notifications center 2100 tovanish from the user interface 400.

FIG. 22 depicts a newsfeed screen 2200, in accordance with someembodiments. The newsfeed screen 2200 is presented in response toselection of a newsfeed menu option, which is presented on a menu that,in turn, is presented from a menu that is presented in response toselection of the menu button 418 (FIG. 4). As can be seen from FIG. 22,the newsfeed screen 2200 includes a plurality of newsfeed details 2202,2204 and 2206. Each newsfeed detail 2202, 2204 and 2206 containsinformation concerning the nature of the platform 106 event giving riseto entry in the newsfeed 2200. For example, a newsfeed detail 2202, 2204and 2206 may state the date, time, location and identity, etc. of acreator of a unit of content, a newsfeed detail 2202, 2204 and 2206 mayinclude information stating the date and time that a particular useraccount was observed entering or exiting a designated place, a newsfeeddetail 2202, 2204 and 2206 may include the date and time that aparticular user, such as a user that was previously designated as afriend/follower or otherwise designated as bearing an association withthe user account that is presently logged into the positional contentapplication 210 on another platform, joined the platform 106.

In accordance with other embodiments, disclosed location messagingsystems are employed in systems and methods for providing a customer orpotential customer an incentive to leave one location, such as thelocation of a competitive merchant, and go to another merchant'sestablishment. FIG. 23 conceptually illustrates an example of such amethod. In operation 2300, a first geographic area including a firstcommercial location is defined. Typically, the first geographic area isdefined by a merchant representing a business establishment such as arestaurant, sometimes referred to as the “enticing merchant” herein. Insuch an example embodiment, the first commercial location is thelocation of a target establishment, such as a competing restaurant. Thecommercial location can be defined by the enticing merchant using acomputer application, an example of which is discussed further laterherein.

In operation 2302, the location of a mobile device such as the mobiledevice 102 or 104 in the possession of the consumer is determined. Forsimplicity, in the following examples the customer is considered to bein possession of the mobile device 102 located at location L1illustrated in FIG. 1. As shown in operation 2304, if the mobile device102 is determined to be at a location within the first geographic area,then an incentive message for the customer to leave the location L1 andgo to a second commercial location is sent to the mobile device inoperation 2306. If the mobile device 102 is not within the firstgeographic area, then the location of the mobile device continues to bemonitored.

FIG. 24 illustrates an example of a system 2400 configured to implementcertain methods disclosed herein, such as the method illustrated in FIG.23. At a very basic level, the system 2400 includes a front-end 2402, aback-end 2404, and a communication interface 2406 such as the internet.Examples of the front-end 2402 include a graphical user interfaceapplication granted to a user. A front-end application accesses andmanipulates data in the back-end 2404. In the illustrated embodiment,the front-end 2402 includes a mobile device application 2410, such as aniPhone® or Android® app running on the mobile device 102, and a webbased merchant portal front-end application 2412 operating on anysuitable device capable of communicating with the internet 2406. Theillustrated back-end 2404 includes server-based applications, services,and persistence layers that are deployed to dedicated hardware systemsor cloud based environments, for example. Thus, example implementationsof the back-end 2404 include one or more web servers 2420 that includeappropriately programmed processing devices, API services 2422 andmemory devices 2424 including databases, program code, etc. In someembodiments, the back-end 2404 further includes an inference engine 2426that receives input components such as a user identification andlocation, and based thereon, provides outputs to the front-end 2402 asdiscussed further herein.

FIGS. 25-29 are examples of certain screens displayed by an embodimentof the mobile device application 2410. For ease of discussion, FIGS.25-29 will be presented in terms of a scenario where a restaurant owner(the enticing merchant) has identified a competing restaurant(Merchant1) and defined a geographic area that includes the competingrestaurant and/or an area associated with the competing restaurant, suchas a parking area commonly used by customers of the competing restaurantand input the boundaries defining the geographic area into the system2400 using the merchant web application 2412. The boundaries input intothe merchant web application 2412 are received by the back-end 2404 viathe internet 2406 and stored in the database 2424 (operation 2300 ofFIG. 23). When it is determined that the mobile device running themobile application 2410 is located in the first geographic area—i.e.near the Merchant1 restaurant (operation 2304 of FIG. 23), the back-end2404 receives an alert and in response thereto, an alert message is sentto the mobile device 102. In some embodiments, the system 2400 furtherdetermines whether the mobile device 102 has come to rest within thefirst geographic area for at least some predetermined time period. Insuch implementations, the inference engine 2426, for example, could beconfigured so as to infer that the customer has arrived in a parking lotof the competitor's restaurant if the mobile device 102 comes to restwithin the first geographic area for at least some predefined timeperiod.

FIG. 25 illustrates an example of an alert screen 2500. The messagesdisplayed in the alert screen 2500 can be input via the merchant webapplication 2412, or in some embodiments, are boilerplate messages. Inthe illustrated alert screen, an alert message includes two parts:“Going to Merchant1?” is displayed in a first message area 2502, alongwith “Hang On!” in a second message area 2504. In some versions, one ormore of the messages displayed are displayed in sequence, and/oranimated. For instance, in some embodiments, the message displayed inthe second message area 2504 is animated, such that the “Hang On”message moves across the display to its illustrated position to give theeffect of the illustrated icon 2506 shouting “Hang On!” In otherembodiments, notifications, such as push notifications or localnotifications, and/or other types of alert messages are provided. Forexample, in place of, or in addition to the alert screen 2500, alertssuch as an icon displayed in the device's notification area, vibration,sounds, etc. are used alone or in combination with one another. Stillfurther, the alert screen 2500 could be displayed following such alertswith or without further inputs from the user.

After displaying the alert screen 2500, an incentive message is sent tothe mobile device 102. In some implementations, user input is receivedvia the alert screen 2500 by displaying an input device such as a“continue” or “accept,” input button, a drop down button, etc., and inresponse to the input the incentive message is displayed on the mobiledevice 102. In other embodiments, the incentive message is displayedfollowing display of the alert message 2500 for some predetermined timeperiod, or following some other criteria. In still further embodiments,and alternative input device is displayed wherein the user could choosenot to view the incentive message (i.e. a “decline” button).

FIG. 26 illustrates an example incentive message 2600. The exampleincentive message 2600 identifies the establishment located at thesecond geographic location (Merchant2, i.e., the enticing merchant), andtypically displays a logo or other identification of Merchant2 in amerchant identification area 2602. The user “John Smith” is shown in auser identification area 2604, and the particular incentive is displayedin an incentive area 2606. On the illustrated incentive screen 2600, theincentive is a “50% off any purchase” offer. Of course other types ofincentives could be offered, such as fixed discounts off a minimumpurchase (“$5 off purchase of $20 or more), buy-one-get-one-free, freeor discounted kid's meal with purchase of adult meal, etc. In someembodiments, the displayed incentive 2606 is time limited as shown inthe incentive limitation display area 2608, thus enticing the customerto immediately leave the Merchant1 establishment and go to the Merchant2establishment before the incentive 2606 expires. Some embodimentsinclude a headline message 2610, which in the illustrated screen 2600 isa scrolling message. Example information messages inform customers ofnew menu items, other specials, etc. Some headline messages 2610 areintended to be humorous or even controversial (“Our new wings are betterthan Merchant1's wings!”) in order to capture the customer's attention.Headline messages are determined by Merchant2, such as by use of thescreens depicted in FIGS. 30A-30E discussed herein below.

Some versions of the incentive screen 2600 include a “get directions”input 2612, which in response to activation by a user display a mapand/or directions to the Merchant2 establishment using the GPS interfaceon the mobile device 102, for example. The illustrated incentive screen2600 further incudes a “share” button 2614 that allows the user to sharethe incentive with others, such as friends or followers. In someimplementations, the user is encouraged to share incentive offers byrewarding the user for such sharing. For example, according toembodiments, users receive further discounts to the Merchant2establishment or other commercial establishments, or even payment forsharing incentives (e.g. $1 for each share).

If the customer in possession of the mobile device 102 decides to leavethe Merchant1 location and go to the Merchant2 establishment, a secondalert message is sent and displayed on the mobile device 102 when thesystem 2400 determines that the mobile device 102 is located within asecond geographic area in proximity to and/or including the secondcommercial location (location of Merchant2). FIG. 27 illustrates anexample second alert screen 2700 displayed in some embodiments inresponse to the mobile device 102 entering the second geographical area.Upon entering the second geographical region, the second alert 2700 issent to the mobile device 102, including a second alert message 2702notifying the customer that they've arrived at the Merchant2establishment, and they can redeem their voucher for the incentive 2606offered on the screen 2600 shown in FIG. 26. If the user would like toredeem the voucher, an input control may be provided such as clickingthe alert message 2702. In other embodiments, additional inputs areprovided such as a “decline” input.

In response to user input, or after a predetermined time period, avoucher for the incentive 2606 is sent to the mobile device 102. Incertain embodiments, a welcome message such as that illustrated in FIG.28 is first sent to the mobile device 102 and displayed thereon. Thewelcome screen 2800 includes a welcome message 2802 that provides adownload input 2804 that the customer can use to download the voucherfor the offer 2606. Some embodiments include further inputs, such as adecline input. Upon activation of the download input 2804, the voucheris sent to the mobile device 102.

FIG. 29 shows an example of a voucher screen 2900. The example voucherscreen 2900 displayed on the mobile device 102 displays the incentive2606, which can be shown by the customer in the Merchant2 establishmentto receive the incentive. Some embodiments further include a validationdevice such as a control number, a bar code, a two-dimensional bar code(i.e. QR code), etc. In the voucher screen 2900 shown in FIG. 29, avalidation device 2902 includes a link to activate a bar code, such as aQR code. In some implementations, the provision of the validation deviceallows establishing a “closed loop” incentive system, in which theenticing merchant, Merchant2, can validate that the incentive 2606 wasused by a customer. For example, in some embodiments the QR codeprovided in the validation device 2902 is linked to the Merchant2point-of-service (POS) system, so that when the QR code is scanned arecord or notification of the incentive redemption is created in the POSsystem. Alternatively, the enticing merchant could be notified by arecord in the POS system, an email, etc. of instances where thevalidation device 2902 is activated, or if the download input 2804 ofthe welcome screen is activated, for example.

In some implementations, compensation schemes are provided in which theenticing merchant compensates a party implementing the system 2400 andthus providing the desired incentives to customers or potentialcustomers. For example, the system provider can be compensated for oneor more of the various actions described herein in conjunction withFIGS. 25-29, such as when the customer is detected leaving the Merchant1location, when the customer is detected arriving at the Merchant2location, when the download input 2804 of FIG. 28 is activated todownload an incentive voucher, when the QR code is activated via thevalidation input 2902 of FIG. 29, when the QR code is scanned by theenticing merchant, etc. Still further, the compensation amount can bevaried for different incentive actions. For instance, a $1 compensationcould be earned by the system provider for verifying the customerleaving the Merchant1 location and/or arriving at the Merchant2location, and a $2 compensation could be earned for the customeractivating the QR code using the verification screen 2900.

Referring again to FIG. 29, in some embodiments, following theactivation of the validation device 2902, the incentive offer is validonly for some predetermined time period. Upon activating the validationdevice 2902, various expiration notification notifications (count-downtimer, expiration date/time, etc.) could be displayed, for example. Infurther embodiments, the displayed QR code or other validation devicedisappears following some predetermined time period following activationof the validation device 2902.

In certain embodiments, further validation devices are provided. Forexample, the bar code, QR code, validation number, etc. displayed on thevalidation screen 2900 is animated (i.e. moves back and forth across thedisplay) in some implementations, thus preventing use of a capturedstatic image of the screen 2900.

Similarly to the incentive screen 2600 shown in FIG. 26, a share 2904button is provided on the validation screen 2900 so that the customer inpossession of the mobile device 102 can share the voucher with friendsor followers, for example. Moreover, the share button 2904 can beconfigured so that the customer can associate the voucher 2900 with theMerchant2 location in accordance with embodiments of the locationalmessaging system disclosed herein above. Referring back to FIG. 1, ifthe Merchant2 location is location L1, the voucher could be the digitalcontent that is associated with the location L1 so that another usercould later encounter the voucher.

As noted above, the definition of the first geographic area (the regionincluding the Merchant1 location) as received in operation 2300 of FIG.23 is provided using the merchant application 2412 shown in FIG. 24. Insome embodiments, the enticing merchant enters this information usingthe merchant application 2412 implemented as a web application of thefront-end 2402. In certain implementations, this and other informationis entered into the merchant application 2412 by creating a “campaign.”

FIGS. 30A-30E are example screens illustrating portions of an examplecampaign creation process from an embodiment of the merchant application2412. FIG. 30A shows an example of a basic setup screen 3001, in whichthe enticing merchant names the campaign, establishes start and enddates of the campaign if desired, and defines the offer at an offerinput section 3010. The incentive offer entered in section 3010 isdisplayed on the various mobile device screens, including the incentivescreen 2600, the welcome screen 2800 and the voucher screen 2900. Asnoted above, various incentives could be offered, such as a percent offany purchase, fixed discounts off a minimum purchase (“$5 off purchaseof $20 or more), buy-one-get-one-free, free or discounted kid's mealwith purchase of adult meal, etc.

A second setup screen 3002 is shown in FIG. 30B, wherein the enticingmerchant enters further information regarding the Merchant2establishment, such as the business name, address, phone, email,website, etc. The Merchant2 logo can also be provided for display on thevarious mobile device screens such as those illustrated in FIGS. 25-29.

FIG. 30C illustrates a third setup screen 3003, in which informationabout the target establishment is received. The enticing merchant entersinformation regarding the target establishment, Merchant1, that isdisplayed in the mobile device screens shown in FIGS. 25-29. The targetname 3012 and address 3014 are entered. In the example described inconjunction with FIGS. 25-29, the target is a competing business.However, this is not always the case. For example, the targetestablishment could alternatively be a complementary business, such as amovie theater, in which case a restaurant owner could attempt to enticemovie theater patrons to visit the Merchant2 restaurant following amovie showing.

Moreover, in some implementations, it is possible for more than oneenticing merchants to establish campaigns targeting the same targetestablishment or the same or overlapping geographic areas. For example,the owners of two different restaurants could each target the same movietheater, the same competing restaurant or the same or overlappinggeographic areas, such as the same parking lot or the same oroverlapping areas of a parking lot. Several solutions to such situationsexist, such as auctioning the target to the highest bidder, “timesharing” (in response to detection of a user within a target area, afirst voucher for a first enticing merchant is displayed during a firsttime period and a second voucher for a second enticing merchant isdisplayed during a second time period, meaning that a first merchantwould pay the system provider for the first time period and the secondmerchant would pay the system provider for the second time period),“slotting” (in response to detection of a user within a target area, afirst voucher for a first enticing merchant is displayed to 60% ofcustomers and a second voucher for a second enticing merchant isdisplayed 40% of customers, meaning that the first merchant would paythe system provider a fee for the right to have its enticement displayedin response to 60% of the instances in which customers enter the targetarea, and a second merchant would pay the system provider a fee for theright to have its enticement displayed in response to 40% of theinstances in which customers enter the target area). Other schemes arepossible. Still further, an enticing merchant may “defensively” targethis or her own establishment. In other words, if Merchant2 defines atarget area including its own establishment or an area associated withits establishment (such as a parking area commonly used by itscustomers), other merchants could potentially be prevented fromtargeting the Merchant2 establishment, or, according to otherembodiments, in the event that other merchants defined a target areaoverlapping with Merchant2's defensive targeting of its ownestablishment and/or areas associated therewith, the conflict may beresolved by the aforementioned auction, slotting or timesharing schemes.Thus, a merchant may defensively block enticements from being deliveredto its own customers either entirely, or during time periods, or to anextent determined by the slotting fee paid by Merchant2.

A map 3016 of a geographical region including the Merchant1 address isdisplayed, and the user can zoom in or out to the desired resolution. Inthe illustrated embodiment, the geographic area is defined and received(operation 2300 of FIG. 23) by the application 2412 using the map 3016.When the map 3016 is at the desired resolution, a grid is superimposedover the map 3016, and the user selects squares, or cells, on the map todefine the first geographic area that includes the Merchant1 location.Typically, cells corresponding to the Merchant1 address and surroundingarea, such as the parking lot associated with the Merchant1establishment, are selected. In the illustrated screen 3003, 48 cellshave been selected to define the first geographic area associated withthe Merchant1 location. The example screen 3003 further includes aninput area 3018 in which the user can input a target headline fordisplay. The headline 3018 corresponds to the headline message 2610displayed on the incentive message screen 2600 shown in FIG. 26.

FIG. 30D illustrates an example of an enticement creation screen. Ifdesired, a time limit for the offered incentive defined on the screen3001 is entered at an input area 3020. A preview 3022 of the incentivemessage screen 2600 (shown in FIG. 26) that includes the time limitentered in the input area 3020, as well as the Merchant2 logo providedon the screen 3002 and the headline message input using the input area3018 of the screen 3003 is provided on the enticement creation screen3004.

In FIG. 30E, an example of a voucher creation screen 3005 is shown inwhich the voucher screen 2900 is created. If desired, the voucher timelimit is entered in an input area 3030, and additional terms andconditions of the offered incentive can be entered at an input area3032. A preview 3034 of the voucher screen 2900 (shown in FIG. 29) isprovided on the voucher creation screen 3005.

In some implementations, the campaign creation process is notnecessarily implemented immediately following completion of the exampleinput screens shown in FIGS. 30A-30E. For example, the informationentered is manually or automatically verified before implementing thecampaign to insure someone actually associated with the enticingmerchant created the campaign. Other embodiments are envisioned whereinthe validation process is automated, such as checking information inputduring the campaign against information available from other sourcessuch as the better business bureau, Secretary of State, bankinginstitutions, etc.

As noted above in conjunction with the discussion of FIG. 30C, the firstgeographic area including the first commercial location (the Merchant2location) is defined during the campaign creation process using inputscreens such as the examples illustrated in FIGS. 30A-30E. In someembodiments, a “region” is defined using data received during thecampaign creation process by the back-end 2404, as well as informationdownloaded by the front-end. FIG. 31 conceptually illustrates an exampleof a region 3100 and various aspects thereof. The illustrated region3100 includes various pieces of information and sub-elements such as theboundary extents 3102 of the region 3100, a “warning track” 3104 definedby a warning track boundary 3106, a region center point 3110 and one ormore targets discussed further below.

The boundary extents 3104 include coordinates that define the bounds ofthe region object 3100. The warning track 3104 is a region situatedabout the periphery of the region 3100 between the warning track innerboundary 3104 and the region boundary 3102. One or more targets (such asthe Merchant1 commercial location 3120) reside within the bounds 3102 ofthe region 3100. The target 3120 is surrounded by a geographic targetarea 3120 that has a footprint that is made up of one or more “rings”3124. The target rings 3124 are a collection of polygons, or “rings”,that define the full bounds of the target area 3122. In the illustratedembodiment, each ring 3124 is a square defined by (x,y) bounds, thoughother geometries could be used in alternative embodiments. The size ofthe ring (square) 3124 can be determined, for example, based onusability within the campaign creation process when selecting targetsand/or GPS resolution factors using the grid displayed on the map 3016of the input screen 3003 illustrated in FIG. 30C.

In operation 2302 of FIG. 23, the location of the mobile device 102 isdetermined. In some embodiments, the mobile device application 2410monitors the location of the mobile device 102 and reports the locationto the back-end 2404. If the application 2410 detects that the mobiledevice 102, and thus the user has crossed into a target area 3122 and isat rest, it will send a message to the back-end 2404. In certainembodiments, to be considered “at rest,” the mobile device must ceasemoving for some predetermined time period, such as one minute or more.The back-end 2404 will then determine if the user should receive anenticement notification. If the inference engine 2426 determines that anenticement is applicable, the user will receive, for example, a pushnotification or other message describing the enticement associated withthe target area 3122 such as the alert screen 2500 and subsequentscreens disclosed in FIGS. 25-29.

After a user has accepted and downloaded an enticement, for example, byselecting the appropriate input on the example alert screen 2500, themobile device 102 will begin to monitor the its movement, watching forthe user to become at rest within the enticing merchant location—theMerchant2 location. FIG. 32 illustrates another region 3200 in which thesecond geographic area 3222 including the Merchant2 location 3220 islocated. If the mobile application 2410 determines the mobile device 102at rest in the Merchant2 geographic region 3222, the mobile device 102sends a message indicating this event to the back-end 2404. The back-end2404 responds, for example, by sending a push notification containingthe applicable voucher welcome screen 2700.

In accordance with further aspects of the disclosure, in someembodiments an activity log is kept throughout the day to track thevarious locations of the mobile device 102 and thus, the user'smovement. This information, for example, could be routinely uploaded tothe back-end 2404 periodically such as once per day. Examples of theactivity log include a flat table of time stamps and GPS coordinates.Other dimensions could further be included, such as accelerometertilt/pan/skew, power on/power off events, hibernate wake/sleep events,call initiations, texts sent, user gestures, contacts, phone history,email, messaging, social network data, etc. to refine and improve theinference engine 2426. In some implementations, the log is compressedbefore uploading and is only uploaded if the mobile device 102 has aWIFI connection. The log can be cleared from the mobile device 102 bythe device application 2410, for example, if the server 2420 hasconfirmed the log has been uploaded and stored in the database 2424.

An example of daily system operations could thus include activitiesinitiated in response to a daily event time. Upon the mobile application2410 detecting a new daily event time has been crossed, for example 4:00AM, the mobile application 2410 clears it's local cache of regionobjects and performs a daily target request (DTR). A base region object(for example, region 3100 shown in FIG. 31) is derived on the back-end2404 based on a user identification associated with the mobile device102 and/or mobile application 2410, location, campaign data, etc. Thebase region is downloaded to the front-end 2402 through a set ofservices 2422, and the region object is cached locally on the mobiledevice 102 and is not be cleared until the next daily event.

As the day progresses, the user moves within the base region 3100boundary 3102. The user typically would stop and become “at rest” atseveral points throughout the day. Enticement and voucher events areraised throughout the day if the user becomes at rest within ageographic area defined during a campaign (such as the first geographicarea 3122), and calls to the back-end 2404 are performed as definedherein above in response thereto. An activity log is uploaded at the endof the day, or potentially at various times in the day when WIFI isavailable.

A daily target request (DTR) could include, for example, sending a useridentification of the mobile device 102 and the location (latitude,longitude) thereof as determined using its GPS transceiver 336 (see FIG.3) to the back-end 2404. In response thereto, the server 2420 sends anappropriate base region object, which contains a collection of targets(such as the Merchant1 location 3120 and associated geographic area3122) and a warning track 3104 identification.

FIG. 33 shows regions 3100 and 3200 adjacent to one another. If themobile device 104 moves from the location shown in FIG. 31 (theMerchant1 area 3122) into the warning track area 3104, the mobile device102 sends a Real-Time Target Request (RTTR) to the back-end 2404. Insome examples, the RTTR is functionally similar to the DTR, except thecache is not cleared. As the mobile device 102 crosses into variouswarning track regions such as the warning track 3104, adjacent regions(such as the region 3200) are loaded and cached locally on the mobiledevice 102. FIG. 34 illustrates a situation where the mobile device 102becomes at rest in a corner of the region 3100 in the warning track3104. In response thereto, the mobile device 102 requests three regions3200, 3300, 3400 from the server 2420 with boundary extents adjacent tothe currently active region 3100.

Following the initial DTR, the mobile device 102 builds up an increasingstack or collection of region objects and caches them as the mobiledevice 102 moves through space. In certain specific implementations, ifa user crosses back and forth between regions, the request is notresent, and the cached regions are only cleared on DTR events.

As noted above, in addition to determining the location of the mobiledevice 102 at a particular location, example embodiments further requiredetermining that the mobile device 102 is at rest before it makes therequest and loads a new region. For example, if the user is riding on atrain with the mobile device 102, it does not make sense to fill upcache space with regions that will never be used. Once the mobile device102 comes to rest at the end of the train ride, however, a new regioncould be loaded. Moreover, the cache could be completely cleared and anew DTR sent in response to such a scenario—if the mobile device 102 andthus the user suddenly appear in a location far from their startingregion (for example just off a plane), a new DTR should be performed.

The various embodiments described above are provided by way ofillustration only and should not be construed to limit the invention.Those skilled in the art will readily recognize various modificationsand changes that may be made to the present invention without followingthe exemplary embodiments and applications illustrated and describedherein, and without departing from the true spirit and scope of thepresent invention, which is set forth in the various claims.

The claimed invention is:
 1. A computerized method of providing acustomer incentive to leave a first commercial location and to arrive ata second commercial location, the method comprising: receiving adefinition of a first geographic area including the first commerciallocation by a computer system and storing the first geographic area in amemory; determining a location of a mobile device in the possession ofthe customer; and if the mobile device is determined to be at a locationwithin the first geographic area, then sending to the mobile device anincentive message for the customer to leave the location and go to thesecond commercial location.
 2. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: determining whether the mobile device has come to rest at alocation within the first geographic area.
 3. The method of claim 1,further comprising: displaying the incentive message on the mobiledevice.
 4. The method of claim 3, further comprising: sending a firstalert message to the mobile device; displaying the first alert messageon the mobile device; and displaying the incentive message on the mobiledevice in response to an input on the first alert message.
 5. The methodof claim 1, further comprising: receiving a definition of a secondgeographic area including the second commercial location by the computersystem and storing the second commercial location in a memory;determining the location of the mobile device; and if the mobile deviceis determined to be at a location within the second geographic area,then sending to the mobile device a voucher for a merchant located atthe second commercial location.
 6. The method of claim 5, furthercomprising: sending a second alert message to the mobile device;displaying the second alert message on the mobile device; and displayingthe voucher on the mobile device in response to an input on the secondalert message.
 7. The method of claim 5, further comprising: displayinga bar code representing the voucher on the mobile device.
 8. The methodof claim 1, further comprising: displaying a map including the firstcommercial location; displaying a grid including a plurality of cells onthe map; wherein receiving the definition of the first geographic areaincludes selecting cells of the grid.
 9. The method of claim 1, whereindetermining the location of the mobile device includes receiving anindication of the location of the mobile device from the mobile device.10. The method of claim 9, further comprising: defining a firstgeographic region object that includes the first geographic area; andsending the geographic region object to the mobile device in response tothe mobile device entering the first geographic region.
 11. A system,comprising: a back-end including a server and a memory; a front-endincluding a mobile device application; a communications interfaceaccessible by the back-end and the front-end; the back-end beingconfigured to determine a location of a mobile device including themobile device application, and if the mobile device is determined to beat a location within a first geographic area, then sending to the mobiledevice an incentive message for a customer to leave the location and goto a second commercial location.
 12. The system of claim 11, wherein thefront-end includes a merchant application configured to receive adefinition of the first geographic area.
 13. The system of claim 12,wherein the back-end includes an API service, wherein the back end isconfigured to access a map including the first commercial location, andwherein the map is displayed by the merchant application to receive thedefinition of the first geographic area.
 14. The system of claim 11,wherein the back-end stores a definition of the first geographic area inthe memory.
 15. The system of claim 11, wherein the mobile deviceapplication is configured to determine the location of the mobile deviceand send the location of the mobile device to the back-end.
 16. Thesystem of claim 11, wherein the mobile device application is configuredto determine whether the mobile device is at rest within the firstgeographic area.
 17. The system of claim 11, wherein the mobile deviceapplication is configured to display the incentive message on the mobiledevice.
 18. The system of claim 11, wherein the back-end is configuredto send a voucher to the mobile device for a merchant located at thesecond commercial location if the mobile device is determined to be at alocation within a second geographic area containing the secondcommercial location.
 19. A storage medium including an application for amobile device, the application executing program instructions thatimplement a method comprising: determining a location of the mobiledevice; if the mobile device is determined to be at a location within afirst geographic area, then sending a notification to a back-end;receiving an incentive message for a customer to leave the location andgo to a second commercial location; and displaying the incentive messageon the mobile device.
 20. The storage medium of claim 19, wherein theexecuted method further comprises: caching a definition of the firstgeographic area.